Carillion collapse could leave hospitals without essential services

Carillion, one of the NHS’s biggest contractors, has fallen into administration this morning after ongoing financial struggles.

Following several days of negotiations, the board of the NHS’s largest external contractor, Carillion, has said that it had “no choice but to take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect’’.

Carillion employs around 20,000 people in the UK with around 8,000 of these working as subcontractors for the NHS. The group also holds contracts for HS2, prisons and the armed forces.

Health bosses have raised concerns about how NHS organisation will continue to provide some critical services for patients if contracts collapse. NHS organisations are said to be developing contingency plans.